


Swallow & Skylark

by KyaFalcone



Series: The Bunny Hutch [5]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: BAMF Women, Child Sawada Tsunayoshi, Children are curious, Different Vongola Guardians (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Dying Will Flames (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Endgame Kyouya/Tsunayoshi, Female Friendship, Female Sawada Tsunayoshi, Flame Sealing still happens, Gen, Genderfluid Mammon | Viper, Hyper Intuition (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Katekyou Hitman Reborn! needs more Strong Female Characters, Minions, Multi, My Guardians are not Your Guardians, Namimori Town is Mafia Retirement Town, Near Death Experiences, Protective Varia (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Protective Xanxus (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Reincarnation, Sawada Iemitsu Bashing, Sawada Iemitsu's A+ Parenting, Self-Indulgent, Sky Flames (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Smart Sawada Tsunayoshi, Strong Female Characters, Tags Contain Spoilers, Timoteo | Vongola Nono's A+ Parenting, Tropes & Cliches, Tsubame means Swallow, Tsuna's name is Tsubame in this, Unconventional Uses for Dying Will Flames, Women Being Awesome, Yes the title means, everyone has secrets, yes it's a Monty Python reference
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:36:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21975970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyaFalcone/pseuds/KyaFalcone
Summary: After an event in her childhood, Tsubame remembers another life. Though her memories vague, she realizes she has somehow been born into an anime/manga. She can't tellwhichas her memory fails to give her titles and "orange fire" isnotspecific enough to help her narrow it down. It's still enough for her to realize she needs to change.Tsubame takes a look at her life and decides to make changes.
Relationships: Chrome Dokuro & Sawada Tsunayoshi, Gokudera Hayato & Sawada Tsunayoshi, Hibari Kyouya & Kusakabe Tetsuya, Hibari Kyouya/Sawada Tsunayoshi, Kurokawa Hana & Sasagawa Kyouko, Kurokawa Hana & Sasagawa Kyouko & Sawada Tsunayoshi, Kurokawa Hana & Sawada Tsunayoshi, Kusakabe Tetsuya & Sawada Tsunayoshi, Lambo Bovino & Sawada Tsunayoshi, Miura Haru & Sawada Tsunayoshi, Rokudou Mukuro & Sawada Tsunayoshi, Sasagawa Kyouko & Sawada Tsunayoshi, Sasagawa Ryouhei & Sawada Tsunayoshi, Sawada Tsunayoshi & Vongola Tenth Generation Guardians, Sawada Tsunayoshi & Xanxus, Varia & Vongola Tenth Generation
Series: The Bunny Hutch [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1581853
Comments: 62
Kudos: 521
Collections: Reincarnation and Transmigration, oc self insertSI





	1. New Lease on Life

It’s strange being reborn. You would think you wouldn’t remember the previous life but by some stroke of… something I remember mine. It wasn’t like I woke up one day and remembered or like I always knew. It came in parcels for the most part. Thinking something was supposed to be impossible. Knowing something without ever being introduced to the concept before. Looking at something and _knowing_ things about it. It was never truly _helpful_. In reality, it made things hard for me growing up. But I didn’t know what it was that was causing it.

Not until a little after my seventh birthday at least. That was when I had my first near death experience. That was when I woke my flames. That was when the barrier between me-from-now and me-from-then broke. I was unconscious for three days. My poor mother worried herself sick. My bastard father didn’t even call to check on me. To be honest, he most likely didn't know I was in the hospital. 

I probably needed those three days. They’re probably why I didn’t wake up with a disorder of some sort. I told people I didn’t remember what happened. Told them I couldn’t remember anything from that day.

That was a lie.

I remembered the barrel of the gun aimed at my face. I remembered the foreign man spitting words at me that I shouldn’t have understood. I remembered his finger pulling the trigger. I remembered the sound of a gun firing. I remember the smell of ignited gunpowder. I remember fearing for my life and _not wanting to **die again**_. I remember the blaze of orange flame that _melted_ the bullet as three men took down the one that shot at me.

I remembered feeling, almost hearing, something in me shatter and then I remembered the life of me-from-then. Remembered being someone else and suddenly all the little things that didn’t make sense suddenly _did._

I remember realizing I was _probably_ in another dimension or alternate reality or _something_. Because bursting into flame only happened in comics and tv shows as far as me-from-then knew. I remember realizing I was _probably_ in an anime/manga since I was Japanese. I remembered all the clichés of anime. I silently wept with joy upon realizing both my eyes and hair were a nondescript brown. Granted, it was kind of fluffy since it was so short but _that_ wasn’t an indicator of being a main character.

I was either a side character or completely unknown to the main characters. I didn’t hold much luck of _not_ being side character. Something told me I had at least _known_ of the world I know lived in. But that didn’t really help me much. I could vaguely remember hours spent on the internet and websites watching an episode of a series to see if I like it. I could remember hours spent in bookstores with manga I never intended to buy if I didn’t want to know what happened next.

So as a seven-year-old waking from a three-day coma after being shot at, I decided to take a good look at my life. I was average in grades. I missed answers to some things because of the odd knowledge I had of my previous life; there were differences in the worlds me-from-now and me-from-then lived in. I tripped over my own feet often enough, though I did that in my previous life too. I wasn’t very popular or had any close friends. I didn’t even have the one-best-friend-that-either-knows- _everything_ -or-is-the-best-resource. There was me and my mother. 

My very _alive_ mother. But looking at her through the eyes of someone who had another life with another set of parents, I knew she wasn’t the _super_ mother some characters got. I also knew she was better than the parents _others_ got. She seemed average in the anime-parents spectrum. But I was probably biased to some point. She _was_ my mom. She did excel at the typical housewife tasks so she had that going for her. I couldn’t pinpoint any ‘steel’ so she wasn’t quite a Yamato Nadeshiko. She could probably fill the oblivious-parent cliché. But she was as nondescript in coloring as I was so there was that.

Never-there-father was pretty much the main cliché I could find right off the bat. I could only remember _one_ visit within the last _four_ years. I could barely remember _that_ visit to be fair. I was four. I _do_ remember he brought his boss, an older gentleman with bodyguards. And my father claimed to be a construction worker. Which was a lie as far as I could tell.

Granted, I knew if I gave myself a chance I could probably give _everything_ a part of a cliché. But I was cynical like that. In both lives apparently.

So I was probably a future side character or a member of a team of magic element users. With only an orange flame to go by I couldn’t really decide _what_ kind of powers there were in this world. But _having_ said powers pretty much guaranteed I would need them at some point. Which meant practice. Which meant figuring out _how to use_ said orange flame. Which meant experimenting and keeping secrets. But it wasn’t like I had any friends to go to with this.

#

Being seven with the memories of someone over two decades was hard the next time she went to school. Tsubame realized she _knew the material_. Or at least most of it. Technically seven years in age and she could remember how to do at least basic algebra, making the learning of basic addition and subtraction very easy. The past week she had spent focused on figuring out _what_ show/comic she was now living in (still not sure as she couldn’t remember details of any shows or books _though_ she _did_ remember cliches often found in them), figuring out how likely she would be pulled into crazy anime plots (highly likely since she _burst into flames_ ), reassuring her mother she was okay (with minimal success), and forcing herself to remember all of her language courses from _this_ life (before she suddenly responded to things in a language _not_ Japanese). 

Being surrounded by her fellow seven/eight-year-olds forced Tsubame to reevaluate her plans. She _had_ been more focused on figuring out the orange fire and her possible source material. _Now_ Tsubame realized she needed to decide how she wanted to be _seen_ by her fellow students and how to keep herself stimulated in classes that she could probably do in a half doze.

Vague memories for other shows and books had Tsubame erring on the side of caution. Sudden changes in attitude, even with a ready-made excuse (hello coma/head trauma), would be looked upon with scrutiny. Which would make her future efforts to learn about the flames _very_ difficult as she was more likely to be watched. Sudden skills with no possible source of the knowledge would have her labelled as a cheater since she wouldn’t be able to explain her previous life’s knowledge.

Tsubame knew she didn’t want that attention. Her previous life (which she nicknamed Arian after a pagan goddess of reincarnation, Arianrhod, since she couldn’t remember the name she had gone by then) told her that standing out _never_ helped. Arian had stood out among her classmates and was bullied and ridiculed for it. Even though she had risen above it and came out a success according to what Tsubame could remember, Tsubame didn’t want that kind of life for herself. She had already done it once, why do so again?

So, when Tsubame returned home after school, she made a list. She wanted to be seen as average, with very little to differentiate herself from her peers. She knew she would be seen as studious; without books she would likely become very bored with school and become noticeable by somehow acting out. She decided she didn’t want to be seen as standoffish as that would not endear her to others and she didn’t know who would be a part of this magical power team. She could probably get away with being skilled in home crafts with her mother as an excuse. 

Any books she read would need to be at the reading level of her peers, not above or below. Those same books should probably be history based as that was her worst class even before the accident. Arian had enjoyed a vast amount of random knowledge on various times in history and those vague memories were often causing Tsubame to just eek out a passing grade in the class. 

Tsubame was getting a reputation as a klutz as had Arian until she grew older. Finding some sort of physical activity she could use to help with that was high on her list though she didn’t know _what_ kind of club or group she would be able to join. Off-hand, Tsubame knew there was a dance studio and a martial arts dojo in Namimori. While learning to fight seemed like the best idea (most anime she remembered focused on some sort of fighting), she would need to see how many other girls were in the classes. She would _not_ put herself in a situation to be noticed.

Looking at her list, Tsubame sighed. She would first have to figure out where her peers were in reading skill and knowledge wise. She should probably aim for slightly above average in her scores so that her with books could be acceptable. Once she knew where she could show herself as, she could see about dance classes (or martial arts if the number of girls was high enough). Spending time with her mother to learn more home-making skills would be something she could do when home.

Tsubame decided she would be polite, kind, and helpful to her peers. Even if she didn’t like the person, manners were important and she would _excel_ at them.


	2. I Can Set Myself on Fire

It took about a year for Tsubame to feel settled enough in school to even _think_ about practicing her fire ability. The past year had been rather interesting for Tsubame as she hadn’t felt bored enough to try hiding advanced books from her teachers or mother. Which was probably a _really_ good thing.

Dance class had ended up being a _bad_ idea as Tsubame had no rhythm to speak of (which she should have realized as _Arian_ didn’t have any rhythm). Her dance teacher had actually taken her aside and told her it would be better if she tried something else, _anything without music_. Her teacher was kind enough to point Tsubame in the direction of a gymnastics class that would work better, then refunded them the money for the six months worth of classes Kaa-chan had paid for.

Gymnastics ended up being a much better fit for Tsubame. The class also netted her a friend of a sort. Miura Haru was an interesting girl her age who was _not_ what she appeared. Haru-chan often portrayed herself as a bit of an airhead and generally oblivious of things most kids were figuring out at their tender age of eight. In actuality, Haru was the only one to notice shy, clumsy Tsubame was not so shy and actually rather calculating. The two girls spent a good time in their class trying to make sense of the other. Which came to a head when Tsubame noticed Haru working on a routine via physics after getting some rather upsetting news.

~

_“You’ll need more spin to make that work,” Tsubame whispered as she sat down to ready herself for their class. Winter had set in and the small shorts and thin tops they wore in class were not enough to protect oneself from the elements._

_“Hahi!” Haru yelped as she covered her work. The surprise was understandable as they were both rather early. The older, advanced class that went before theirs hadn’t even reached their halfway mark._

_Tsubame, rather done with the runaround the two girls had going on for half a year, nodded towards Haru’s notebook. “You’ll need more leg strength to pull off that amount of spin and be able to land without having to pause before the next set,” she explained. When Haru simply stared, Tsubame sighed. “Look, we both know the other is hiding stuff. I would rather have someone I can talk to than continue this game.”_

_Haru narrowed her eyes at the other girl. They had both started the beginner classes and continued for some time with their little war. For the other girl to suddenly_ end _that?_

_“What happened?” Haru asked, losing the airhead tone she usually had._

_Tsubame sighed. “My_ father _,” she spat out, “is planning a visit. Kaa-chan is rather set on cleaning the whole house.”_

_Haru blinked. It was a rather talked about topic among the housewives, the Sawada’s missing husband/father. Haru had heard quite a few interesting theories about the man while she hunted for information on her fellow. “When did he last visit?” Haru wondered. She couldn’t remember having_ ever _heard the man was home._

_“Four years ago, thereabouts,” Tsubame sighed. “I doubt he’ll actually show up. He didn’t last year when he pulled this.”_

_“Really?” Haru stared. “You haven’t seen him in_ four years _?”_

_Tsubame leveled a steady look at her fellow smarter-than-portraying-child. “I have probably the_ worst _father ever. I doubt he even knows about my_ accident _.”_

_Haru gaped at her fellow brunette._ Everyone _knew that Sawada Tsubame had some sort of accident, believed klutz related, that sent her into a coma for a few days. It was one of the reasons Haru suspected Tsubame had joined the gymnastics class._

_“If he_ does _show up,” Haru offered slowly, “I think I can convince my tou-san to let us have a sleepover.”_

~~

The two girls had cemented their friendship when two weeks later, Tsubame’s father _hadn’t_ shown up for his planned visit. He cited some work emergency was the reason. Haru had allowed Tsubame to spend the night to allow Sawada Nana to grieve without her daughter under foot. Haru’s father in turn seemed rather happy his daughter _had_ a friend to invite over. The two also ended up having a chance to explain their acting.

~

_“Tou-san and I miss Kaa-san,” Haru shrugged when Tsubame poised the question. “Kaa-san was pretty ditzy, and she missed a_ lot _of things. He knows I’m smarter than I let on but lets me continue in her memory. What about you?”_

_Tsubame knew the question was coming and had figured out how to answer. “The accident gave me a wake-up call. I wasn’t getting very far where I was but I didn’t want to attract more attention. Then my father never showed up,” she shrugged. “I… Why put forth the effort to be his ‘precious little Tsu-chan’ when he can’t even_ visit _me?_

_“I remember what happened that day too,” Tsubame offered quietly. “A man tried to kill me.”_

_Haru stayed silent, sensing this was the first time Tsubame had ever admitted what happened. Tsubame knew, in the same way she knew her father was a_ liar _, that Haru would end up being a good friend and never tell her secrets._

_“He aimed a gun at my head and pulled the trigger,” Tsubame shivered. “I suddenly burst into orange fire and_ I knew _. I_ knew _that man came after me because of my deadbeat father. My father who couldn’t even_ show up _to check on his daughter after an accident. A three-day_ coma _. I decided to_ never _consider him blood again.”_

_Haru nodded as she pulled out an algebra book. She knew her friend needed a distraction. They would talk about the fire part some other time. “Want to do some math?”_

_Tsubame laughed. “Please.”_

~~

Haru had ended up being the perfect person to open herself to. Their friendship was odd to those looking at them. Haru was loud and ditzy to Tsubame’s shy and clumsy. When Haru needed a more maternal hand, Tsubame would bring her home to soak in attention from Nana. When Tsubame needed a place to simply _be_ , Haru dragged her to the university and they simply spent time in the library or hiding in one of the parks.

Some days the two spent every minute together. And then there were days where they did their own thing. Haru had other people she socialized with, though Tsubame suspected none of them truly knew the girl, while Tsubame began to learn about her inner fire.

#

“What am I doing wrong?” Tsubame growled.

Tsubame had issues with bringing her fire to the surface. For weeks she tried to _will_ the orange fire to gather in her palm with only small sparks of amber to appear. Those small sparks were _nothing_ in comparison with what she remembered encased her _entire body_.

“Fire,” Tsubame whispered, thinking of what she recalled from Arian. “What do I know of fire?”

Suddenly the little voice in her head seemed to… try to shift her focus.

Closing her eyes, Tsubame tried to follow the _other_ that she remembered from years _before_ her accident. It had disappeared at one point, before she had started schooling. Since her coma, Tsubame had noticed the voice getting stronger and louder. Tsubame was noticing the voice more and more.

Opening her mouth, Tsubame let her lips form the words coming to her. “Dying will,” she breathed. The voice settled and Tsubame repeated the words. “Dying will. I was afraid of dying,” she acknowledged.

Focusing on her remembered emotions, her fear and certainty she was going to die followed by her _determination to **not**_. Holding on to her determination, Tsubame opened her eyes to see bright orange fire dancing around her palm.

#

“So it’s will power?” Haru asked later the same week.

Tsubame nodded. “I think so. I didn’t _want_ to die and that fueled the first flames I created that day.”

The two were sitting in Tsubame’s room with some cakes from La Namimorine, a bakery both girls enjoyed. It was a treat they indulged in once a month. Their homework was spread out, mostly finished, when the topic of her orange fire came up.

“The will to live?” Haru whispered to herself.

Tsubame nodded before putting a piece of cake in her mouth. Green flashed across her vision, causing Tsubame to look up at her friend. Green electricity arched over Haru’s hand.

“Well…” Haru gaped as the green light diminished.

“That was a different color,” Tsubame noted. “And not really…”

“Flame like,” Haru nodded.

Tsubame focused and pulled her orange flame into her palm. “Can you do it again?”

Haru smiled and began to focus. Soon the green electricity sparked. Grinning, the two girls high-fived with their flaming and sparking hands. There was a sense of completeness that permeated the room.


	3. A Collection of Thoughts and People

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it doesn't feel like not much. Even with this chapter being the same length as both previous ones combined. But it helps set up for the future.

The addition of Haru’s electrical power to Tsubame’s fire caused the pubescent girl to sort through the anime knowledge she had from Arian, hoping to find some sort of guide. Sorting through all that information led her to Magical Girls as the most likely genre of their source material. However, Magical Girls rarely seemed to get their powers _prior_ to some event or meet some guardian/mascot that gives them their powers. Neither of those seemed to have happened from what Tsubame had seen. Which put some issues in her theory of where she (and now Haru) fell in whatever anime plotline they were in.

What she could remember from Arian’s life was spotty. But it looked like she was part of _some_ kind of Shōjo storyline. Her instinct (that voice that was getting stronger and stronger every day) was telling her they would have to fight. Which lent more credence to Magical Girl anime. Granted, Tsubame was also sure that whatever source material Arian had read was deliberately being hidden from her. Eventually, Tsubame let it go. She would continue on until _something_ happened in their seemingly insignificant town.

Haru and Tsubame took to practicing manifesting their odd powers to their hands as often as they could. They noticed distinct differences between the two powers. Haru’s green lightning wasn’t like typical lightning. Besides the color difference, it didn’t have the same attraction to metal found in normal lightning. Haru had found she could _push_ her lightning into objects. Haru had experimented with her power to see what it did to objects. While Tsubame’s fire was more similar to an actual fire in that it radiated warmth, though it took _a lot_ of her concentration to even singe anything.

So far the experiments were slow going. They didn’t have any true ideas about these powers and what they could do. While the lack of progress was frustrating, both girls were happy they weren’t alone in the experience. Tsubame was relieved to have someone to work with, even if their strange powers were different.

Tsubame kept a strict routine to her life. It was a habit from Arian’s life that carried over, but Tsubame never found a reason to work to _stop_ her innate need for a routine. Mornings before school were spent with Kaa-san making breakfast and lunch. It was a time Tsubame used to strengthen her relationship with her mother. After the visit-that-never-happened from her father, Tsubame tried her best to keep her mother from depression.

Sawada Nana did well enough on her own but the added knowledge from Arian allowed Tsubame to see the moments that were hardest for her mother. These moments seemed to happen less as Tsubame spent more time with her mother, trying to show Nana that she didn’t need or _want_ the father that never visited or called. It was a difference from the Tsubame _before_ but a change that seemed natural after so many visits-that-weren’t. Tsubame no longer asked about her father, no longer raced to the door every time someone came by, no longer held the rare postcards close to her chest when she missed the man. Nana noticed the change in her daughter, of course she did, but there was a silent understanding between them to no longer mention the man.

School stayed most of the same. Tsubame worked hard on her schoolwork, but never allowed herself to get everything right. She was polite to her classmates, helping when asked, taking on some chores when needed. Tsubame took to eating her lunch quickly and pulling out some crocheting project while she watched her classmates.

Crocheting was an idea from Arian’s past. She could remember Arian learning to knit and then trying to learn to crochet but having difficulty with the differences between the two. Tsubame decided to learn to crochet and putting that to muscle memory to keep her life different from Arian’s. It also allowed her time to think as her hands stayed busy with something.

After school let out Tsubame had taken to wandering Namimori. Originally she wanted to learn the town for the future, as her intuition told her they would need it at one point. Slowly the reason changed. Tsubame learned the town layout easily but found herself spotting things that she knew a normal eight-almost-nine-year-old wouldn’t spot. She noticed children that were cared for by businesses instead of _families_. She noticed men who carried weapons on their bodies, mostly guns hidden in their jackets or waistline. She noticed people that kept a close eye on their surroundings. She noticed those watchful people preferred certain businesses. She noticed the police forces left which buildings alone when _everyone_ seemed to know those buildings held homeless children.

Tsubame noticed Namimori was _not_ a normal town.

The Arian part of her wondered if the strange things she noticed were just typical of whatever universe she was in. Her _intuition_ told her it was unique to Namimori. Tsubame decided to trust her intuition as it had yet to give her wrong information while Arian _did_ get things wrong for this world. Tsubame was still learning how to tell the difference though. 

So, Namimori was different. She didn’t know _what_ made it different, but she was sure she could figure it out. It might take a few years but she could.

Haru rarely joined Tsubame on her walks, as they were usually a time just for the brunette to walk and think. Tsubame would travel the streets of Namimori until she felt her legs burn then she would head to one of the parks and practice with her fire. She practiced until she could pull it forth with a simple thought. It took her several months to reach the point of being able to call her fire so easily. Haru had achieved that rate in half that time.

Tsubame initially felt rather jealous of her friend for getting the trick earlier when Tsubame had been trying for _months_ beforehand. She spent a weekend alone before she realized her intuition was screaming as loud as it could at her. Calming her emotions was difficult but after a few hours she could simply _listen_. Her intuition told her Haru’s element was easier to gather after the initial ‘summoning.’ It told her she would have a hard time calling and controlling her fire but if she worked at it, she would be far stronger than any other _current_ users of the orange fire.

Tsubame didn’t know _how_ her intuition knew all the things it knew, but she had never found it to be _wrong_. Sometimes she didn’t _understand_ what it was telling her or it stayed silent when she thought it should ‘talk’. So she put aside her jealousy as much as she could and went back to her routine. Haru was a little hesitant at first when Tsubame brought up their elemental powers, but once Tsubame explained her intuition, they settled back in their easy friendship.

It was one of the few times Haru joined her on her walk that Tsubame followed her intuition and pulled her friend into one of bookstores that Namimori had. Haru followed with a verbal complaint that Tsubame knew was just for her cover. When she stopped in front of the manga, Tsubame scanned the titles until she found one that looked like what she wanted. Magical Girl manga. Pulling the first of the series out, she handed it to Haru.

“Oo! Pretty,” Haru cried as she looked over the cover. 

“Magical girls,” Tsubame offered quietly. Then she turned and made her way to the small craft section. Tsubame wasn’t sure _why_ Haru should know of her theory of them being ‘magical girls’ but it couldn’t _hurt_ to have her friend looking into it too.

#

Tsubame didn’t know _why_ she felt the need to make more than her usual for lunch. Her intuition only told her she would need over three times her usual amount of food. Her mother seemed to think the increased food was to ‘share with friends’ and Tsubame didn’t have the heart to correct Nana.

As her day reached lunch as normal, Tsubame looked around her to see if anyone seemed to _not_ be eating. Her intuition giggled at her so she turned to eat her usual amount when everything appeared normal. 

Tsubame followed her routine as usual, waiting for something out of the ordinary to happen. Nothing had caught her eye at school. There wasn’t anything obvious to note as she traveled the streets. It wasn’t until she sat in her usual park to practice her fire that anything stood out.

Tsubame brought to mind her family. Her mother. Haru. Haru’s father. She thought of those people she knew she would do _anything_ to protect. Tsubame knew she wasn’t _normal_. When practicing her tumbling, she often considered how to turn something so innocuous into an attack or dodge. Most of those thoughts came along with her intuition telling her she _would have_ to fight in the not so distant future.

Thinking of her family, of those she would protect to her last breath, was the easiest method for her to call her fire to her hands. Once the few people she kept that close were bright in her mind, Tsubame pooled her love in her palms. She felt the warmth of her fire as it flickered between her fingers. She had learned that putting _intent_ into her flames caused them to heat. With enough intent she could singe paper, leaves, and twigs. She never let the fires grow so as to keep a fire from getting out of hand, but she was sure she could at least make a decent campfire.

“I’d heard there was a secret chord; That David played and it pleased the Lord; But you don’t really care for music, do you?” Tsubame sang softly. 

She had noticed a few weeks back that her fire got stronger when she sang. She hadn’t found a song that _always_ worked but her intuition always pulled the right song to her mind. Last time it had been ABBA songs.

“The baffled king composing Hallelujah.”

As she sang, her intuition whispered to her. The meditative state Tsubame was in did not truly allow for her to ignore her intuition. Instead, she could only follow the cues it gave her. Holding on to her loved ones and the song, Tsubame released the constraints she unconsciously placed on her fire.

As her fire left her hands, Tsubame found her mental map of the area appear in her mind’s eye. She could almost _see_ her fire leave her. Could _see_ it push out until it covered the entire park and beyond the barrier of the trees and fences.

“And I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch; And love is not a victory march; It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah.”

As she kept singing, her mental map grew to the point she could ‘see’ her house and school. Her home had a nice warm feel to it with a warmer spot that Tsubame knew was her mother. A few blocks away, at the mall she could feel the electric whirlwind she knew as Haru.

“But all I’ve ever learned from love; Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya; And it’s not a cry that you hear at night.”

There was also a weak wet feeling just behind a tree to her left. 

“It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah.”

Tsubame’s intuition nudged her. Slowly opening her eyes, Tsubame called her fire back to her. Usually she simply _let go_ but that didn’t feel like a good idea with this new technique. Instead, Tsubame imagined the wave of fire that she had created was being pulled back to her palms. It definitely felt different. Almost like her fire didn’t _want_ to return. She would have to look into that later.

Once all of her fire was in her hands, she pulled her fire back under her skin. Tsubame had learned that by pulling her fire back into her, she didn’t feel the odd cold she often felt before her coma. Grabbing her bag from beside her, Tsubame pulled out her leftover lunch.

“Would you like to join me?” she called softly to the person hiding. When there was no movement, Tsubame sighed. “I have plenty to share. More than I can eat myself.” Still nothing. “I would hate to throw it away.”

 _Finally_ , the weak signature moved. Tsubame opened her bento and began to set things out. Tsubame kept very tight control over her face and body language as a child moved to sit in front of her. They probably weren’t even _five_.

“Slowly,” she told them as they grabbed an onigiri. “You don’t want to eat too fast. Your stomach will revolt.”

The child looked at her.

“You’ll throw up,” she explained.

They nodded and slowed down.

“I’m Tsubame. What’s your name?” Her intuition told her mentions of a last name wouldn’t do her any favors with this child.

“Hisoka.”

Tsubame smiled. “I’m pleased to meet you, Hisoka. I have a few questions if you don’t mind answering what you feel comfortable answering.”

Hisoka flinched away and stopped eating. Tsubame decided to ask the easiest of her questions.

“How many are hungry?” she asked. Hisoka starred at her. Tsubame decided to stretch the truth as little as possible. “My Okaa-san likes to cook. So do I even though I’m still learning. Sometimes we make too much. I see no reason why I can’t bring the extra to those that need it.”

“Really?”

Tsubame nodded. “You can take the rest. I’ll come back tomorrow with more.” _Much more,_ Tsubame promised herself. She could probably get Haru to help too.

There was no way for her to realize the consequences of her actions that day. 

#

“Are you _sure_ he wanted me to come with you?” Tsubame asked again. Haru rolled her eyes and leveled her friend with a _look_. Tsubame ducked and shrugged. “I _know_ I’m being silly, Haru. It’s just… I don’t think this is a typical ‘meet the friend’ thing.”

Haru blinked and tilted her head as she thought. “Your intuition?”

Tsubame nodded. “I feel like we’re about to have our world shift. Again,” she grumbled.

Haru giggled at her. “How many do you think we’ll go through before we’re adults?”

Tsubame’s intuition seemed to _giggle_ at the question. Tsubame groaned. “Too many I’m sure.”

Haru stopped walking as she laughed. Tsubame paused and waited for her friend to catch her breath. When Haru finally started walking, she looped their arms. “We’ve got this, ‘bame,” Haru stated. “Whatever _this_ is, we’ll face it together and come out stronger.”

Tsubame smiled weakly and leaned into her friend some. “Thanks, ‘ru.”

They finished their walk to Haru’s grandfather’s place in comfortable silence. Haru’s grandfather lived a little outside of Namimori in a traditional home. Haru let her mask fall as they entered the home. Tsubame attempted to pull back her mask. It was harder than she expected. Tsubame suspected it was because she didn’t _know_ Haru’s grandfather.

“I asked you here as you are old enough to learn of our town’s laws,” the elderly man stated as he set the kettle down.

Tsubame looked up from her cup of tea. “Is this about the children and the guns?” Tsubame winced as the question slipped from her lips. Seemed her mask was pulled back enough to loosen her tongue.

Daichi Tōma chuckled. “Yes, little bird.”

“Children?” Haru turned to Tsubame.

Ducking her head, Tsubame tried to explain. “There are buildings police won’t go into. Even though a _lot_ of kids _live_ there. And I’ve noticed lots of people with guns on them.”

“You are a bright one,” the old man smiled. “Namimori is not a normal town, girls.” Both set their cups down as they listened. “Namimori is one of the Hibari territories. Our particular territory is under the protection of a younger member of the main Hibari family, Hibari Kyoya.”

“Hibari Kyoya,” Haru whispered, “Middle schooler with above average grades and a known love of violence.”

Daichi laughed. “Young Hibari-san is far more talented than his father or grandfather before him. Our tiny town provides more opportunities for Hibari-san to test himself than others the clan watches over. But he takes his responsibilities seriously. Which is why I have asked you here.” 

Haru tilted her head. “What are Hibari-san’s responsibilities?”

Daichi smirked. “To keep the peace in his territory. By any means he so chooses.”

“What does that have to do with us?” Tsubame asked.

“My dear, you two are far from normal.” Daichi chuckled as Tsubame ducked her head again. “It is not a _terrible_ thing, little bird. But while most of the children will never know the silent laws of our town, you two are smart enough to _need_ to know them. I have been approached by several adults who have noticed your habits, little bird.”

Tsubame tensed. She could feel Haru beside her warring between emotions. Daichi watched them with clever eyes.

“You girls are not in trouble,” he assured. “Those that noticed you will not be causing problems. They might watch you, but none of them will approach you. There would be no point. One of those silent laws pertains to _who_ keeps young ones like you from accidentally _breaking_ those laws.”

“You, grandfather?” Haru asked.

Daichi nodded. “For you, my spring blossom, I have always been the one. For your friend, however, that _should_ be your father.”

Tsubame grimaced. “My _father_ has no right to _anything_. If he was supposed to explain all of this to me, I would _never_ have learned.”

“I agree,” Daichi sighed. “Your father has made it _quite_ clear that he does not want you or your mother involved.”

“Involved?” Haru whispered.

“Involved in what?” Tsubame asked at the same time.

Daichi raised his eyebrow at them. “I am afraid I cannot tell you.”

Her intuition flared again. “Those same silent laws?”

Daichi nodded. “I am afraid so, little bird.”

Tsubame _knew_ she wouldn’t get any more information from the elderly man on that topic. “Alright. What law am I close to breaking?”

She could tell Haru wanted to ask but it was enough that Tsubame was letting it go. Daichi actually seemed to be impressed with her decision not to try for more information.

“The children you have been feeding,” he told her. “Typically, the laws state that those children not cared for by their families are to be cared for by the Hibari clan.”

“But they _aren’t_ being cared for properly,” Tsubame stated.

The amount of food she brought to the various buildings was staggering. Tsubame knew she was feeding over twenty kids and probably a few teenagers. Those kids were also getting her crocheted blankets, scarves and hats. Haru had even started learning to sew in order to _help_ cloth them.

Daichi nodded. “Which is why no one will cause you problems. Hibari-san, young Kyoya-san’s mother, has approached me to help ease the situation. There has been an increase in children on the streets and in the Hibari’s care. Kyoya-san has yet to inform his grandfather of the increase.”

“How?” Haru asked, her eyes hard and emotions finally settled. “We won’t _stop_ , Jiji. Those kids _need_ us.”

Daichi laughed. “I am aware, blossom. Thus this meeting. There are a few ways in which we can ‘sanction’ your actions. The easiest of which is with money.”

“Money?” Tsubame wondered. “I am _ten_. I cannot make my own money yet.”

“Correct. However, as your adult representative, I can. If, with your permission, I invest funds given by the Hibari clan, funds that usually go towards the children’s care, and we use them to fufill the Hibari duties.”

Tsubame’s intuition _screamed_. _This_ was important. She _needed_ to agree to this. If she didn’t… Tsubame didn’t follow that thought. 

“What _kind_ of investments?” Haru asked while Tsubame gathered her thoughts.

The Hibari were _supposed_ to be taking care of the kids, her little minions. Hibari Kyoya hadn’t found a solution himself, yet. Tsubame’s intuition assured her the older boy would figure it out without her intervention. But she _needed_ to do this. Something about this was important.

“That would depend on Tsubame,” Daichi explained. “As Hibari-san knows it is the little bird doing this, her word is law when it comes to how these funds would be used.”

Several businesses popped into Tsubame’s head. Maybe not the kind of investments people _usually_ thought of, these were places that she had already noted as helping the kids. Ones that did what they could but weren’t… well, Tsubame was almost positive they were covers for some sort of criminal activity.

“What if you don’t like my ideas?” Tsubame asked. Her intuition wasn’t acting against the idea of using those businesses. In fact, it seemed to _agree_. But Tsubame knew she was different and didn’t want to strain things for Haru and her grandfather.

Daichi laughed. “Why don’t you tell me what you are thinking, little bird, and then I will tell you what _I_ think.”

Tsubame bit her lip before nodding. “Alright.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this has been in the works for a while. I have Chapter 2 almost done but not sure how far this will actually be written out, thus The Bunny Hutch.


End file.
